


Leaving Narnia

by Dorkangel



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Book edit, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-20 07:37:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1502114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorkangel/pseuds/Dorkangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would have happened at the end of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe if I had written it... This took AGES to copy off a kindle since my kindle has no Internet. I edited the whole book, but that would take too long!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Leaving Narnia

**Author's Note:**

> C.S.Lewis's writing style was rather bare, so most of the editing is on the descriptions of the characters.

Leaving Narnia  
An edited version of the last little bit of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

And now, as you see, this story is nearly (but not quite) at an end. These two Kings and two Queens governed Narnia well, and long and happy was their reign. At first much of their time was spent in seeking out the remnants of the White Witch's army and destroying them, and indeed for a long time there would be news of evil things lurking in the wilder pasts of the forest - a haunting here and a killing there, a glimpse of a werewolf one month and a rumour of a hag the next. But in the end nearly all that foul brood was stamped out. And they made good laws and kept the peace and saved good trees from being unnecessarily cut down, and liberated young dwarfs and young saytrs from being sent to school, and generally stopped busybodies and interferers an encouraged ordinary people who wanted to live and let live. And they drive back the fierce giants (quite a different sort from Giant Rumblebuffin) in the north of Narnia when they ventured across the frontier. And they entered into alliance with countries beyond the sea and paid them visits of state and received visits of state from them. They were especially friends with Archenland, the closest friendly country. Archenland was mainly a country of men, but the beats (and trees) of Narnia were welcome there, and the two lands fought together whenever there was need to fight.  
And they themselves grew and changed as the years passé over them. Peter became a tall and deep-chested man and a great warrior, and he was called King Peter the magnificent. And Susan grew into a tall and gracious woman with black hair that fell almost to her feet and the kings of the countries beyond the sea began to send ambassadors asking for her hand in marriage. And she was called Queen Susan the Gentle. Edmund was a graver and quieter man than Peter, and great in council and judgment. He was called King Edmund the Just. But as for Lucy, she was always gay and golden-haired, and all the princes in those parts desired her to be their Queen, and her own people called her Queen Lucy the Valiant.  
So they lived in great joy and if they ever remembered their life in this world it was only as one remembers a dream. And one year it fell out that Tumnas (who was a middle-aged faun by now and beginning to be stout) came down river and brought them news that the White Stag had once more appeared in his parts - the White Stag who would give you wishes if you caught him. So these two Kings and two Queens with the principal members of their court, rode out hunting with horns and hounds in the Western Woods to follow the White Stag. Peter had said immediately to the others that HE could get the Stag all by himself when they had first heard of it, and they were laughing at him now for that whenever they caught their breath. Lucy kept sticking her tongue out at Edmund, who all through the hunt had kept very focused and silent, and was trying his best to ignore her. Susan had really wanted to stay behind with some of the more ladylike courtiers, but felt that if her siblings were going, she should too.  
And they had not hunted long before they had a sight of him. And he led them a great pace over rough and smooth and through thick and thin, till the horses of all the courtiers were tired out and these four were the only ones still following. And they saw the Stag enter into a thicket where their horses could not follow. Then said King Peter (for they talks in quite a different style now, having been Kings and Queens for so long): "Fair consorts, let us no alight from our horses and follow this beast into the thicket; for in all my days I never have hunted a nobler quarry.  
"Sir," said Lucy. "Even let us do so."  
So they dismounted and tied their horses to trees and went on into the thick wood on foot. And as soon as they had entered, Queen Susan said,  
"Fair friends, here is a great marvel, for I seem to see a tree of iron."  
"Madam," said King Edmund quietly. "If you look well upon it you shall see it is a pillar of iron with a lantern set on too thereof." And some of the others were a little surprised to hear him speak, quietly though it was, for he had not said a word all day. Lucy (whom I think knew him best) gave him a sweet little smile and stopped poking her tongue out, feeling that he had achieved the goal of the whole enterprise.  
"By the Lion's Mane, a strange device." said King Peter. "To set a lantern here where trees cluster so thick about it and so high above it that if it were lit it should give light to no man!"  
"Sir?" said Queen Lucy. "By likelihood when this post and lamp were set here there were smaller trees in this place, or fewer, or none. For this is a young wood and the iron post is old." And they stood looking upon it. Then said King Edmund, for he was quite talkative now (by his standards anyway), "I know not how it is, but this lamp on the post worketh strangely on me. It's runs in my mind that I have seen the like before; as it were in a dream, or in the dream of a dream."  
"Sir," answered they all. "It is even so with us all."  
"And more," said Queen Lucy. "For it will not go out of my mind that if we pass this post and lantern either we shall find strange adventures or else some great change in our fortunes."  
"Madam," said King Edmund. "The like foreboding stirreth in my heart also."  
"And in mine, fair brother." said King Peter, who felt the need to say something now and again, lest anyone forget that he was in charge. "And in mine too." said Queen Susan, who could never let all the others agree to something and outnumber her. "Wherefore by my counsel we shall lightly return to out horses and follow this White Stag no further."  
"Madam," said Kung Peter. "Therein I pray the to have me excused. For never since we four were Kings and Queens in Natnua have we set out hands to any high matter, as battles, quests, feats of arms, acts of justice, and the like, and then given over; always what we have taken in hand, the same we have achieved."  
"Sister," said Queen Lucy. "My royal brother speaks rightly. And it seems to me we should be shamed if for any fearing or foreboding we turned back from following so noble a beats as now we have to chase."  
"And so say I," said King Edmund. "And I have such desire to find the signification of this thing that I would not by my good will turn back for the richest jewel in all Narnia and all the islands." and at once both he and the others seemed much more like when they had been children and first arrived in Narnia, and solemn, silent Edmund offered up a cheeky grin. Lucy was practically bouncing up and down in excitement.  
"Then in the name of Aslan," said Queen Susan. "if ye will all have it so, let us go on and take the adventure that shall fall to us."  
So these Kings and Queens entered the thicket, and before they had gone a score of paces they all remembered that the thing they had seen was called a lamppost, and before they had gone twenty more they noticed that they were not making their way through branches but through coats. And the next moment they all came tumbling out of the wardrobe door into the empty room...


End file.
